Control device, control method, and computer-readable recording medium

ABSTRACT

A control device includes circuitry configured to: detect a first parking candidate position based on external environment recognition data of a moving body and a second parking candidate position registered in advance by a user of the moving body; cause a display device to display detected parking candidate positions; receive, from a user of the moving body, selection of a target parking position from among the displayed parking candidate positions; and park the moving body at the selected target parking position. The circuitry causes to display the second parking candidate position preferentially over the first parking candidate position, when the first parking candidate position and the second parking candidate position are detected and the first parking candidate position and the second parking candidate position overlap each other.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC 119 fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2022-056579 filed on Mar. 30, 2022, thecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a control device, a control method,and a computer-readable recording medium.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, efforts have been made to provide access to sustainabletransport systems that are considerate of vulnerable people in transportparticipants. In order to realize the above object, attention is focusedon research and development to further improve safety and convenience oftraffic through research and development related to automated driving.

The related art discloses autonomous parking control in which a parkingspace is detected and a vehicle is autonomously moved and parked in thedetected parking space. In addition, the related art disclosesautonomous parking control in which a designated parking space isregistered in advance, the registered parking space is detected, and avehicle is autonomously moved and parked.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2021-000958(hereinafter, referred to as Patent Literature 1) discloses a controldevice that, when a number of parking position candidates exceeding anupper limit number are detected, selects an upper limit number ofparking position candidates from among the parking position candidatesaccording to a predetermined rule and displays the selected upper limitnumber of parking position candidates on a display device. JapanesePatent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2021-000972 (hereinafter,referred to as Patent Literature 2) discloses a control device that,when a plurality of parking position candidates partially overlappingeach other are detected, displays the plurality of parking positioncandidates on a display device so as to partially overlap each other andto be selectable.

In autonomous driving technology, in a case where a normal parking spaceand a registered parking space are detected in the same parking area andoverlap each other, when the vehicle is parked in the registered parkingspace, the visibility of display of the registered parking space may bereduced, or the display of the normal parking space may interfere withselection of the registered parking space. Patent Literature 1 andPatent Literature 2 do not disclose a countermeasure against this point.Therefore, in this regard, there is room for improvement in the relatedart.

The present disclosure provides a control device, a control method, anda computer-readable recording medium that stores a control programcapable of easily selecting a registered parking space when a normalparking space and the registered parking space that overlap each otherare detected. Further, the present disclosure contributes to developmentof sustainable transport systems.

SUMMARY

A first aspect of the present disclosure relates to a control deviceincluding circuitry configured to:

-   -   detect a first parking candidate position based on external        environment recognition data of a moving body and a second        parking candidate position registered in advance by a user of        the moving body;    -   cause a display device to display detected parking candidate        positions;    -   receive, from a user of the moving body, selection of a target        parking position from among the displayed parking candidate        positions, and    -   park the moving body at the selected target parking position, in        which    -   the circuitry causes to display the second parking candidate        position preferentially over the first parking candidate        position, when the first parking candidate position and the        second parking candidate position are detected and the first        parking candidate position and the second parking candidate        position overlap each other.

A second aspect of the present disclosure relates to a control methodperformed by a processor of a control device, including:

-   -   detecting a first parking candidate position based on external        environment recognition data of a moving body and a second        parking candidate position registered in advance by a user of        the moving body;    -   causing a display device to display detected parking candidate        positions;    -   receiving, from a user of the moving body, selection of a target        parking position from among the displayed parking candidate        positions; and    -   parking the moving body at the selected target parking position,        in which    -   the control method includes causing to display the second        parking candidate position preferentially over the first parking        candidate position, when the first parking candidate position        and the second parking candidate position are detected and the        first parking candidate position and the second parking        candidate position overlap each other in a case where the        parking candidate positions are displayed on the display device.

A third aspect of the present disclosure relates to a non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium that stores a control program forcausing a processor of a control device to execute a process, theprocess including:

-   -   detecting a first parking candidate position based on external        environment recognition data of a moving body and a second        parking candidate position registered in advance by a user of        the moving body;    -   causing a display device to display detected parking candidate        positions;    -   receiving, from a user of the moving body, selection of a target        parking position from among the displayed parking candidate        positions; and    -   parking the moving body at the selected target parking position,        in which    -   the process includes causing to display the second parking        candidate position preferentially over the first parking        candidate position when the first parking candidate position and        the second parking candidate position are detected and the first        parking candidate position and the second parking candidate        position overlap each other in a case where the parking        candidate positions are displayed on the display device.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a controldevice, a control method, and a computer-readable recording medium thatstores a control program capable of easily selecting a registeredparking space when a normal parking space and the registered parkingspace that overlap each other are detected.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiment(s) of the present disclosure will be described indetail based on the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an example of a vehicle on which a controldevice according to the present embodiment is mounted;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the vehicle shown in FIG. 1 :

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of thevehicle shown in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a diagram in which a designated parking position is set in atop view image generated based on a captured image of a camera;

FIG. 5 shows feature points in a periphery of the designated parkingposition shown in FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 6 shows an example of a map of a designated parking positionregistered in a storage unit;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of display control of a parkingcandidate position during autonomous parking;

FIG. 8 shows an example of parking candidate positions detected in aparking lot; and

FIG. 9 shows an example in which a registered parking candidate positionis preferentially displayed in the parking candidate positions in FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a control device, a control method, and acomputer-readable recording medium that stores a control programaccording to the present disclosure will be described with reference tothe accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the drawings areviewed in directions of reference numerals. In addition, in the presentspecification and the like, in order to simplify and clarify thedescription, a front-rear direction, a left-right direction, and anupper-lower direction are described according to directions viewed froma driver of a vehicle 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 . In the drawings, afront side of the vehicle 10 is denoted by Fr, a rear side thereof isdenoted by Rr, a left side thereof is denoted by L, a right side thereofis denoted by R, an upper side thereof is denoted by U, and a lower sidethereof is denoted by D.

<Vehicle 10 on which Control Device of Present Disclosure is Mounted>

FIG. 1 is a side view of the vehicle 10 on which a control deviceaccording to the present disclosure is mounted. FIG. 2 is a top view ofthe vehicle 10 shown in FIG. 1 . The vehicle 10 is an example of amoving object of the present disclosure.

The vehicle 10 is an automobile including a drive source (not shown) andwheels including driving wheels driven by power of the drive source andsteerable steering wheels. In the present embodiment, the vehicle 10 isa four-wheeled automobile including a pair of left and right frontwheels and a pair of left and right rear wheels. The drive source of thevehicle 10 is, for example, an electric motor. The drive source of thevehicle 10 may also be an internal combustion engine such as a gasolineengine or a diesel engine, or a combination of an electric motor and aninternal combustion engine. In addition, the drive source of the vehicle10 may drive the pair of left and right front wheels, may drive the pairof left and right rear wheels, or may drive four wheels, that is, thepair of left and right front wheels and the pair of left and right rearwheels. The front wheels and the rear wheels may both be the steerablesteering wheels, or the front wheels or the rear wheels may be thesteerable steering wheels.

The vehicle 10 further includes side mirrors 11L and 11R. The sidemirrors 11L and 11R are mirrors (rearview mirrors) that are providedoutside front seat doors of the vehicle 10 for a driver to check therear side and a rear lateral side. Each of the side mirrors 11L and 11Ris fixed to a body of the vehicle 10 by a rotation shaft extending in avertical direction, and can be opened and closed by rotating about therotation shaft.

The vehicle 10 further includes a front camera 12Fr, a rear camera 12Rr,a left side camera 12L, and a right side camera 12R. The front camera12Fr is a digital camera that is provided at a front portion of thevehicle 10 and captures an image of the front side of the vehicle 10.The rear camera 12Rr is a digital camera that is provided at a rearportion of the vehicle 10 and captures an image of the rear side of thevehicle 10. The left side camera 12L is a digital camera that isprovided on the left side mirror 11L of the vehicle 10 and captures animage of the left side of the vehicle 10. The right side camera 12R is adigital camera that is provided on the right side mirror 11R of thevehicle 10 and captures an image of the right side of the vehicle 10.

<Internal Configuration of Vehicle 10>

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of an internalconfiguration of the vehicle 10 shown in FIG. 1 . As shown in FIG. 3 ,the vehicle 10 includes a sensor group 16, a navigation device 18, acontrol electronic control unit (ECU) 20, an electric power steering(EPS) system 22, and a communication unit 24. The vehicle 10 furtherincludes a driving force control system 26 and a braking force controlsystem 28.

The sensor group 16 obtains various detection values used for controlperformed by the control ECU 20. The sensor group 16 includes the frontcamera 12Fr, the rear camera 12Rr, the left side camera 12L, and theright side camera 12R. The sensor group 16 includes a front sonar group32 a, a rear sonar group 32 b, a left side sonar group 32 c, and a rightside sonar group 32 d. The sensor group 16 includes wheel sensors 34 aand 34 b, a vehicle speed sensor 36, and an operation detection unit 38.

The front camera 12Fr, the rear camera 12Rr, the left side camera 12L,and the right side camera 12R obtain external environment recognitiondata (for example, peripheral image) for recognizing an externalenvironment of the vehicle 10 by capturing images of a periphery of thevehicle 10. Peripheral images captured by the front camera 12Fr, therear camera 12Rr, the left side camera 12L, and the right side camera12R are referred to as a front image, a rear image, a left side image,and a right side image, respectively. An image formed by the left sideimage and the right side image may be referred to as a side image.

The front sonar group 32 a, the rear sonar group 32 b, the left sidesonar group 32 c, and the right side sonar group 32 d emit sound wavesto the periphery of the vehicle 10 and receive reflected sounds fromother objects. The front sonar group 32 a includes, for example, foursonars. The sonars constituting the front sonar group 32 a are providedon an obliquely left front side, a front left side, a front right side,and an obliquely right front side of the vehicle 10, respectively. Therear sonar group 32 b includes, for example, four sonars. The sonarsconstituting the rear sonar group 32 b are provided on an obliquely leftrear side, a rear left side, a rear right side, and an obliquely rightrear side of the vehicle 10, respectively. The left side sonar group 32c includes, for example, two sonars. The sonars constituting the leftside sonar group 32 c are provided on a front side and a rear side of aleft side portion of the vehicle 10, respectively. The right sonar group32 d includes, for example, two sonars. The sonars constituting theright side sonar group 32 d are provided on a front side and a rear sideof a right side portion of the vehicle 10, respectively.

The wheel sensors 34 a and 34 b detect rotation angles of the wheels ofthe vehicle 10. The wheel sensors 34 a and 34 b may be configured withangle sensors or displacement sensors. The wheel sensors 34 a and 34 boutput detection pulses each time the wheels rotate by predeterminedangles. The detection pulses output from the wheel sensors 34 a and 34 bare used to calculate the rotation angles of the wheels and rotationspeeds of the wheels. A movement distance of the vehicle 10 iscalculated based on the rotation angles of the wheels. The wheel sensor34 a detects, for example, a rotation angle θa of the left rear wheel.The wheel sensor 34 b detects, for example, a rotation angle θb of theright rear wheel.

The vehicle speed sensor 36 detects a speed of a vehicle body of thevehicle 10, that is, a vehicle speed V, and outputs the detected vehiclespeed V to the control ECU 20. The vehicle speed sensor 36 detects thevehicle speed V based on, for example, rotation of a transmissioncountershaft.

The operation detection unit 38 detects an operation content performedby a user using an operation input unit 14, and outputs the detectedoperation content to the control ECU 20. The operation input unit 14includes, for example, various user interfaces such as a side mirrorswitch for switching between an opened state and a closed state of theside mirrors 11L and 11R, and a shift lever (a select lever or aselector).

The navigation device 18 detects a current position of the vehicle 10 byusing, for example, a global positioning system (GPS), and guides theuser to a route to a destination. The navigation device 18 includes astorage device (not shown) that includes a map information database.

The navigation device 18 includes a touch screen 42 and a speaker 44.The touch screen 42 functions as an input device and a display device ofthe control ECU 20. The speaker 44 outputs various types of guideinformation to the user (an occupant) of the vehicle 10 by audio.

The touch screen 42 is configured to input various commands to thecontrol ECU 20. For example, the user can input a command related tomovement assistance of the vehicle 10 via the touch screen 42. Themovement assistance includes parking assistance and exit assistance ofthe vehicle 10. The touch screen 42 is configured to display variousscreens related to a control content of the control ECU 20. For example,a screen related to the movement assistance of the vehicle 10 isdisplayed on the touch screen 42. Specifically, a parking assistancebutton for requesting the parking assistance of the vehicle 10 and anexit assistance button for requesting the exit assistance are displayedon the touch screen 42. The parking assistance button includes anautonomous parking button for requesting parking by autonomous steeringof the control EC U 20 and a guidance parking button for requestingguidance when parking the vehicle by an operation of the driver. Theexit assistance button includes an autonomous exit button for requestingexit by the autonomous steering of the control ECU 20 and a guidanceexit button for requesting guidance when the exit of the vehicle isperformed by an operation of the driver. Constituent elements other thanthe touch screen 42, for example, an information terminal such as asmartphone or a tablet terminal may be used as the input device or thedisplay device.

The “parking” is synonymous with, for example, “parking the movingbody”. For example, the “parking” is a stop accompanied by getting onand off of an occupant, and excludes a temporary stop due to a trafficsignal or the like. The “parking position” is a position at which themoving body is stopped, that is, a position for parking.

The control ECU 20 includes an input and output unit 50, a calculationunit 52, and a storage unit 54. The calculation unit 52 is implementedby, for example, a central processing unit (CPU). The calculation unit52 performs various types of control by controlling each unit based on aprogram stored in the storage unit 54. Further, the calculation unit 52inputs and outputs a signal from and to units connected to the controlECU 20 via the input and output unit 50. The calculation unit 52 is anexample of the control device of the present disclosure.

The calculation unit 52 includes a parking candidate position detectionunit 55 that detects parking candidate positions of the vehicle 10, adisplay control unit 56 that displays the detected parking candidatepositions on a display device, a reception unit 57 that receives atarget parking position selected from among the parking candidatepositions, and a parking control unit 58 that parks the vehicle 10 atthe selected target parking position.

The parking candidate position detection unit 55 detects a parkingcandidate position at which the vehicle 10 is parked based on theexternal environment recognition data. The parking candidate positionsinclude a normal parking candidate position and a registered parkingcandidate position. The normal parking candidate position is an exampleof a first parking candidate position of the present disclosure. Theregistered parking candidate position is an example of a second parkingcandidate position of the present disclosure.

The normal parking candidate position is a parking space in which thevehicle 10 can be parked in a space detected based on the externalenvironment recognition data. The normal parking candidate position isdetected based on, for example, frame line recognition for recognizing aparking frame or space recognition for recognizing a vacant parkingspace. The parking frame is a white line frame or the like displayed inthe parking lot for parking the vehicle. The vacant parking space is,for example, a space in which the vehicle can be simply parked.

The registered parking candidate position is a parking space registeredas the designated parking position in the past by the user of thevehicle 10 in the space detected based on the external environmentrecognition data. The designated parking position refers to a parkingposition specific to the user, for example, a parking space where thevehicle 10 of the user is frequently parked. The designated parkingposition includes, for example, a monthly parking lot, a home parkinglot, and a coin-operated parking lot with high parking frequency. Theregistered parking candidate position is detected based on comparison ofthe feature points of the external environment recognition data for theparking position.

The parking candidate position detection unit 55 registers apredetermined parking position designated by the user as a designatedparking position in the storage unit 54. The parking candidate positiondetection unit 55 registers the feature points in the externalenvironment recognition data of the vehicle 10 in association with thedesignated parking position to be registered. The external environmentrecognition data for detecting the feature points is the peripheralimages of the periphery of the vehicle 10 captured by the front camera12Fr, the rear camera 12Rr, the left side camera 12L, and the right sidecamera 12R. The feature points related to the designated parkingposition include feature points of the designated parking positionitself, feature points in the periphery of the designated parkingposition, and the like. Examples of the feature points of the designatedparking position itself include feature points in which a character“parking” is displayed in the designated parking position. Examples ofthe feature points in the periphery of the designated parking positioninclude characteristic buildings and obstacles present in the periphery.The designated parking position is registered in the storage unit 54 asa map including feature points in the peripheral image of the vehicle10.

The parking candidate position detection unit 55 detects the registeredparking candidate position by comparing the feature points of theexternal environment recognition data for the currently detected parkingposition with the feature points of the external environment recognitiondata for the designated parking position registered by the user in thepast. When it is determined that a matching rate between the featurepoints of the current external environment recognition data and thefeature points of the past external environment recognition data isequal to or greater than a threshold value, the parking candidateposition detection unit 55 detects a parking space registered as thedesignated parking position by the user in the past as the registeredparking candidate position.

The display control unit 56 displays parking candidate positionsdetected by the parking candidate position detection unit 55 on thetouch screen 42. When the normal parking candidate position and theregistered parking candidate position are detected in the same externalenvironment recognition data by the detection of the parking candidatepositions based on the external environment recognition data and thenormal parking candidate position and the registered parking candidateposition overlap each other, the display control unit 56 displays theregistered parking candidate position on the touch screen 42preferentially over the normal parking candidate position.

For example, when the normal parking candidate position and theregistered parking candidate position are detected in the same externalenvironment recognition data by the detection of the parking candidateposition based on the external environment recognition data and thenormal parking candidate position and the registered parking candidateposition overlap each other, the display control unit 56 displays thenormal parking candidate position on the touch screen 42 in a displaymode inconspicuous than a display mode of the normal parking candidateposition when the normal parking candidate position and the registeredparking candidate position do not overlap each other. The inconspicuousdisplay mode includes, for example, a display mode in whichtransmittance is increased, a display mode in which a display color isthinned, and a display mode in which the display color is close to abackground color in an image. In this case, the display control unit 56may display the registered parking candidate position on the touchscreen 42 in a display mode that is more conspicuous than a display modeof the registered parking candidate position when the normal parkingcandidate position and the registered parking candidate position do notoverlap each other.

For example, when the normal parking candidate position and theregistered parking candidate position are detected in the same externalenvironment recognition data by the detection of the parking candidatepositions based on the external environment recognition data and thenormal parking candidate position and the registered parking candidateposition overlap each other, the display control unit 56 hides thenormal parking candidate position overlapping the registered parkingcandidate position on the touch screen 42.

When the normal parking candidate position and the registered parkingcandidate position are detected in the same external environmentrecognition data by the detection of the parking candidate positionsbased on the external environment recognition data and the normalparking candidate position and the registered parking candidate positiondo not overlap each other, the display control unit 56 displays both thenormal parking candidate position and the registered parking candidateposition on the touch screen 42.

When the normal parking candidate position and the registered parkingcandidate position are detected in the same external environmentrecognition data by the detection of the parking candidate positionsbased on the external environment recognition data and the normalparking candidate position and the registered parking candidate positiondo not overlap each other, the display control unit 56 displays thenormal parking candidate position and the registered parking candidateposition on the touch screen 42 in different modes. The different modesinclude, for example, different display colors, different thicknesses ofdisplay lines, and the like.

The reception unit 57 receives the parking candidate position selectedby the user from among the parking candidate positions displayed on thetouch screen 42 as a target parking position of the vehicle 10.

The parking control unit 58 performs the parking assistance of thevehicle 10 by autonomous steering in which a steering 110 isautonomously operated under control of the parking control unit 58. Inthe assistance of the autonomous steering, an accelerator pedal (notshown), a brake pedal (not shown), and the operation input unit 14 areautonomously operated. The parking control unit 58 performs guideassistance when the driver manually parks the vehicle 10 by operatingthe accelerator pedal, the brake pedal, and the operation input unit 14.

For example, the parking control unit 58 performs autonomous parkingcontrol for parking the vehicle 10 at the target parking position (theselected predetermined parking candidate position) based on the externalenvironment recognition data of the vehicle 10 obtained by the frontcamera 12Fr, the rear camera 12Rr, the left side camera 12L, and theright side camera 12R and the predetermined parking candidate positionselected by the user.

The EPS system 22 includes a steering angle sensor 100, a torque sensor102, an EPS motor 104, a resolver 106, and an EPS ECU 108. The steeringangle sensor 100 detects a steering angle θst of the steering 110. Thetorque sensor 102 detects a torque TQ applied to the steering 110.

The EPS motor 104 applies a driving force or a reaction force to asteering column 112 connected to the steering 110, thereby enablingassistance of an operation performed by an occupant on the steering 110and enabling the autonomous steering during the parking assistance. Theresolver 106 detects a rotation angle θm of the EPS motor 104. The EPSECU 108 controls the entire EPS system 22. The EPS ECU 108 includes aninput and output unit (not shown), a calculation unit (not shown), and astorage unit (not shown).

The communication unit 24 enables wireless communication with the othercommunication device 120. The other communication device 120 is a basestation, a communication device of another vehicle, an informationterminal such as a smartphone carried by the occupant of the vehicle 10,or the like.

The driving force control system 26 includes a driving ECU 130. Thedriving force control system 26 executes driving force control on thevehicle 10. The driving ECU 130 controls a driving force of the vehicle10 by controlling an engine (not shown) or the like based on anoperation performed by the user on the accelerator pedal (not shown).

The braking force control system 28 includes a braking ECU 132. Thebraking force control system 28 executes braking force control on thevehicle 10. The braking ECU 132 controls a braking force of the vehicle10 by controlling a brake mechanism (not shown) or the like based on anoperation performed on the brake pedal (not shown) by the user.

<Registration of Designated Parking Position>

Next, a designated parking position of the vehicle 10 registered by theuser will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6 .

FIG. 4 shows an example of a top view image 60 (a synthesized image)generated from the external environment recognition data of the vehicle10 obtained by the front camera 12Fr, the rear camera 12Rr, the leftside camera 12L, and the right side camera 12R. The top view image 60 isdisplayed on the touch screen 42 of the vehicle 10, for example. In thetop view image 60 shown in FIG. 4 , a parking lot P and a plurality ofplantings (obstacles) 61 a to 61 f are imaged. The user of the vehicle10 rents a parking area 62 set on the side of the obstacles 61 a to 61 fin the parking lot P as a monthly parking lot. The vehicle stopped infront of the parking lot P is an image showing a state in which thevehicle 10 is viewed from above, and is a vehicle image 63 generated(captured) in advance and stored in the storage unit 54 or the like.

For example, the user can register the parking area 62 as a designatedparking position 64 by manual setting by performing a touch operation onthe touch screen 42. In the manual setting of the designated parkingposition 64, a rectangular broken line frame 64 a displayed on the touchscreen 42 is moved by the touch operation to enclose the parking area 62as shown in FIG. 4 . Accordingly, the broken line frame 64 a set toenclose the parking area 62 is set as the designated parking position64.

FIG. 5 shows feature points in a periphery of the designated parkingposition 64 shown in FIG. 4 . When the designated parking position 64 isset, feature points for the designated parking position 64 is detectedby the parking candidate position detection unit 55 in the externalenvironment recognition data obtained by the front camera 12Fr, the rearcamera 12Rr, the left side camera 12L, and the right side camera 12R.For example, as shown in FIG. 5 , obstacle feature points 65 a to 65 findicating positions of the obstacles 61 a to 61 f existing around thedesignated parking position 64 are detected by the parking candidateposition detection unit 55 as the feature points for the designatedparking position 64. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the vehicle 10 isparked at the designated parking position 64.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a map of the designated parking position 64registered in the storage unit 54. When the feature points (the obstaclefeature points 65 a to 65 f) for the designated parking position 64 aredetected, as shown in FIG. 6 , the designated parking position 64 isregistered in the storage unit 54 as a map M indicating a relationshipbetween the detected obstacle feature points 65 a to 65 f and thedesignated parking position 64 manually set.

<Control Example of Calculation Unit 52 During Autonomous Parking>

Next, an example of display control of a parking candidate positionperformed by the calculation unit 52 during autonomous parking will bedescribed with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 7 . When theautonomous parking button displayed on the touch screen 42 is touched,the calculation unit 52 starts the processing shown in FIG. 7 . Theautonomous parking button is touched, for example, when the user who isto park the vehicle 10 comes near the parking lot.

First, the parking candidate position detection unit 55 of thecalculation unit 52 determines whether the registered parking candidateposition is detected in the parking lot based on the externalenvironment recognition data of the vehicle 10 obtained by the frontcamera 12Fr, the rear camera 12Rr, the left side camera 12L, and theright side camera 12R (step S11). As described above, the registeredparking candidate position is detected by comparing feature points ofexternal environment recognition data for a parking position detected inthe current parking lot with the feature points of the externalenvironment recognition data for the designated parking positionregistered by the user in the past and determining whether the matchingrate of the feature points exceeds the threshold value.

In step S11, when the registered parking candidate position is notdetected (step S11: No), the parking candidate position detection unit55 determines whether the normal parking candidate position is detectedin the parking lot (step S12). As described above, the normal parkingcandidate position is a parking space in which the vehicle 10 can beparked, which is detected based on a parking frame, a vacant parkingspace, or the like.

In step S12, when the normal parking candidate position is not detected,that is, when neither the registered parking candidate position nor thenormal parking candidate position is detected (step S12: No), theparking candidate position detection unit 55 returns to step S11 andexecutes each processing.

In step S12, when the normal parking candidate position is detected,that is, when the registered parking candidate position is not detectedbut only the normal parking candidate position is detected (step S12:Yes), the display control unit 56 of the calculation unit 52 displaysthe detected normal parking candidate position in the parking lot in thetop view image in the periphery of the vehicle 10 displayed on the touchscreen 42 (step S13). Display of the normal parking candidate positionand the registered parking candidate position will be described laterwith reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 .

On the other hand, in step S11, when the registered parking candidateposition is detected (step S1: Yes), the parking candidate positiondetection unit 55 determines whether the normal parking candidateposition is detected in the parking lot (step S14).

In step S14, when the normal parking candidate position is not detected,that is, when the registered parking candidate position is detected butthe normal parking candidate position is not detected (step S14: No),the display control unit 56 displays the detected registered parkingcandidate position in the parking lot in the top view image displayed onthe touch screen 42 (step S15).

In step S14, when the normal parking candidate position is detected,that is, when both the registered parking candidate position and thenormal parking candidate position are detected (step S14: Yes), theparking candidate position detection unit 55 determines whether thedetected registered parking candidate position and the normal parkingcandidate position overlap each other (step S16). The case where theregistered parking candidate position and the normal parking candidateposition overlap each other includes not only a case where both theparking candidate positions match each other but also a case where theparking candidate positions overlap each other at least partly.

In step S16, when the registered parking candidate position and thenormal parking candidate position do not overlap each other, that is,when the registered parking candidate position and the normal parkingcandidate position are detected at positions separated from each otherin the parking lot (step S16: No), the display control unit 56 displayseach of the detected registered parking candidate position and thedetected normal parking candidate position in the parking lot in the topview image displayed on the touch screen 42 (step S17). The registeredparking candidate position and the normal parking candidate position maybe displayed, for example, in different display colors or differentthicknesses of display lines.

In step S16, when the registered parking candidate position and thenormal parking candidate position overlap each other (step S16: Yes),the display control unit 56 displays only the registered parkingcandidate position in the parking lot in the top view image displayed onthe touch screen 42 without displaying the normal parking candidateposition (step S18). Although only the registered parking candidateposition is displayed in this example, the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. For example, in order to facilitate recognition of theregistered parking candidate position, the display control unit 56 mayperform display in a mode in which display transmittance of the normalparking candidate position is increased, a mode in which a display coloris thinned, a display mode in which the display color is close to abackground color in an image, or the like.

By displaying the registered parking candidate position and the normalparking candidate position on the touch screen 42 in this way, theregistered parking candidate position can be easily visually recognizedand easily selected by the user.

<Display of Parking Candidate Positions after Registration of DesignatedParking Position>

Next, a display example of the parking candidate positions when thevehicle 10 is parked in the parking lot in which the designated parkingposition of the vehicle 10 is registered will be described withreference to FIGS. 8 and 9 .

FIG. 8 shows an example of parking candidate positions detected by theparking candidate position detection unit 55 in a parking lot P. Theparking lot P shown in FIG. 8 is the same parking lot as the parking lotP described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6 . The user of the vehicle 10autonomously parks the vehicle 10 in the parking lot P. As describedwith reference to FIGS. 4 to 6 , the parking area 62 is registered asthe designated parking position 64 for the parking lot P in the storageunit 54 of the vehicle 10.

As shown in FIG. 8 , the parking candidate position detection unit 55detects two normal parking candidate positions 71 and 72 and aregistered parking candidate position 70 in the parking lot P based onthe external environment recognition data of the vehicle 10 obtained bythe front camera 12Fr, the rear camera 12Rr, the left camera 12L, andthe right camera 12R The parking candidate position detection unit 55detects the normal parking candidate positions 71 and 72 as vacantparking spaces in which the vehicle 10 can be parked by spacerecognition at both ends of the parking lot P. The parking candidateposition detection unit 55 detects the registered parking candidateposition 70 based on comparison of feature points of externalenvironment recognition data for the parking position. In the case ofthe example illustrated in the figure, the parking candidate positiondetection unit 55 detects the registered parking candidate position 70by comparing the obstacle feature points 65 a to 65 f which are thefeature points of the external environment recognition data for theparking position detected in the current parking lot P with the map M(see FIG. 6 ) indicating the feature points of the external environmentrecognition data for, for example, the designated parking position 64registered by the user in the past. When it is determined that thematching rate of both feature points is equal to or greater than thethreshold value, the parking candidate position detection unit 55detects the designated parking position 64 as the registered parkingcandidate position 70. As shown in FIG. 8 , the registered parkingcandidate position 70 in this example is detected at a positionoverlapping the normal parking candidate position 72.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a state in which the normal parking candidatepositions 71 and 72 and the registered parking candidate position 70detected as in FIG. 8 are actually displayed in the top view image 60 onthe touch screen 42. As shown in FIG. 9 , the display control unit 56displays the normal parking candidate position 71 and the registeredparking candidate position 70 in the parking lot P. That is, when thenormal parking candidate positions 71 and 72 and the registered parkingcandidate position 70 are detected in the parking lot P and the normalparking candidate position 72 and the registered parking candidateposition 70 overlap each other, the display control unit 56 hides thenormal parking candidate position 72 overlapping the registered parkingcandidate position 70 and displays only the registered parking candidateposition 70. Further, the normal parking candidate position 71 that doesnot overlap the registered parking candidate position 70 is displayed ina normal display mode. As described above, a display mode when thenormal parking candidate position 72 and the registered parkingcandidate position 70 overlap each other may be, for example, the modein which the display transmittance of the normal parking candidateposition 72 is increased, the mode in which the display color isthinned, or the display mode in which the display color is close to thebackground color in the image. The display examples of FIGS. 8 and 9correspond to the display of step S18 in FIG. 7 . The user selects aposition at which the vehicle 10 is parked from the registered parkingcandidate position 70 and the normal parking candidate position 71displayed in this way.

As described above, when the normal parking candidate positions 71 and72 and the registered parking candidate position 70 are detected in thesame external environment recognition data by the detection of theparking candidate positions based on the external environmentrecognition data and the detected normal parking candidate position 72and the registered parking candidate position 70 overlap each other, thedisplay control unit 56 of the calculation unit 52 displays theregistered parking candidate position 70 preferentially over the normalparking candidate position 72. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent asituation in which the registered parking candidate position 70 isdifficult to be visually recognized or selected due to the display ofthe normal parking candidate position 72 even though the registeredparking candidate position 70 registered by the user in the past, forexample, the parking area 62 registered as the monthly parking lot isdetected.

For example, when the normal parking candidate positions 71 and 72 andthe registered parking candidate position 70 are detected in the sameexternal environment recognition data by the detection of the parkingcandidate position based on the external environment recognition dataand the detected normal parking candidate position 72 and the registeredparking candidate position 70 overlap each other, the display controlunit 56 displays the normal parking candidate position 72 in a displaymode inconspicuous than a display mode of the normal parking candidateposition 72 when the normal parking candidate position 72 and theregistered parking candidate position 70 do not overlap each other.Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a situation in which theregistered parking candidate position 70 is difficult to be visuallyrecognized due to the display of the normal parking candidate position72, and for example, it is possible to autonomously park the vehicle inthe parking area 62 registered as the monthly parking lot accurately.

For example, when the normal parking candidate positions 71 and 72 andthe registered parking candidate position 70 are detected in the sameexternal environment recognition data by the detection of the parkingcandidate positions based on the external environment recognition dataand the detected normal parking candidate position 72 and the registeredparking candidate position 70 overlap each other, the display controlunit 56 hides the normal parking candidate position 72 overlapping theregistered parking candidate position 70. Accordingly, it is possible tofurther prevent a situation in which the registered parking candidateposition 70 is difficult to be visually recognized.

When the normal parking candidate position 71 and the registered parkingcandidate position 70 are detected in the same external environmentrecognition data by the detection of the parking candidate positionsbased on the external environment recognition data and the detectednormal parking candidate position 71 and the registered parkingcandidate position 70 do not overlap each other, the display controlunit 56 displays both the normal parking candidate position 71 and theregistered parking candidate position 70. Accordingly, when thevisibility of the normal parking candidate position 71 and theregistered parking candidate position 70 is not deteriorated, it ispossible to select a parking candidate position according to an optionand a situation of the user by displaying the respective parkingcandidate positions.

When the normal parking candidate position 71 and the registered parkingcandidate position 70 are detected in the same external environmentrecognition data by the detection of the parking candidate positionsbased on the external environment recognition data and the detectednormal parking candidate position 71 and the registered parkingcandidate position 70 do not overlap each other, the display controlunit 56 displays the normal parking candidate position 71 and theregistered parking candidate position 70 in different modes.Accordingly, the user can easily distinguish between the normal parkingcandidate position 71 and the registered parking candidate position 70.

The parking candidate position detection unit 55 of the calculation unit52 detects the normal parking candidate positions based on, for example,frame line recognition for recognizing a parking frame or spacerecognition for recognizing a vacant parking space. By detecting thenormal parking candidate positions based on the information, it ispossible to accurately detect a normal parking candidate position.

The parking candidate position detection unit 55 detects the registeredparking candidate position by comparing the feature points of theexternal environment recognition data for the currently detected parkingposition with the feature points of the external environment recognitiondata for the designated parking position registered by the user in thepast. By comparing the feature points of the external environmentrecognition data, it is possible to accurately determine whether aparking candidate position is the registered designated parkingposition.

The present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment, andmodifications, improvements, and the like can be made as appropriate.

For example, in the above embodiment, a case where the vehicle 10 isautonomously parked by autonomous steering of the parking control unit58 has been described, but the present disclosure is not limitedthereto. For example, the present disclosure may be applied to parkingassistance in which guidance is performed when the vehicle 10 is parkedby an operation of the driver.

In the above embodiment, a case where the display control unit 56displays the top view image 60 or the like on the touch screen 42 of thevehicle 10 has been described, but the present disclosure is not limitedthereto. For example, the display control unit 56 may display the topview image 60 or the like on a display screen of an information terminal(for example, a smartphone) carried by the occupant of the vehicle 10via the communication unit 24.

In the above embodiment, a case where information such as the mapincluding the feature points related to the designated parking positionis registered in the storage unit 54 of the vehicle 10 has beendescribed, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Forexample, the information may be registered in a storage unit of anotherdevice such as an information terminal or a server communicablyconnected to the vehicle 10.

In the above embodiment, an example in which the moving body is avehicle (a four-wheeled automobile) has been described, but the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the moving body may be avehicle such as a two-wheeled vehicle or a Segway. Further, the conceptof the present disclosure can be applied not only to a vehicle but alsoto a robot, a ship, an aircraft, or the like that is provided with adriving source and is movable by power of the driving source.

The control method described in the above embodiment can be implementedby executing a control program prepared in advance on a computer. Thecontrol program is recorded in a computer-readable storage medium and isexecuted by being read from the storage medium. In addition, the controlprogram may be provided in a form of being stored in a non-transitorystorage medium such as a flash memory or may be provided via a networksuch as the Internet. The computer that executes the control program maybe provided in a control device, may be provided in an electronic devicesuch as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a personal computer capableof communicating with the control device or may be provided in a serverdevice capable of communicating with the control device and theelectronic device.

At least the following matters are described in the presentspecification. Although the corresponding components or the like in theabove embodiment are illustrated in parentheses, the present disclosureis not limited thereto.

(1) A control device including:

-   -   a parking candidate position detection unit (parking candidate        position detection unit 55) configured to detect a first parking        candidate position (normal parking candidate positions 71 and        72) based on external environment recognition data of a moving        body (vehicle 10) and a second parking candidate position        (registered parking candidate position 70) registered in advance        by a user of the moving body;    -   a display control unit (display control unit 56) configured to        cause a display device (touch screen 42) to display detected        parking candidate positions;    -   a reception unit (reception unit 57) configured to receive, from        a user of the moving body, selection of a target parking        position from among the displayed parking candidate positions;        and    -   a parking control unit (parking control unit 58) configured to        park the moving body at the selected target parking position, in        which    -   the display control unit causes to display the second parking        candidate position preferentially over the first parking        candidate position, when the first parking candidate position        and the second parking candidate position are detected and the        first parking candidate position and the second parking        candidate position overlap each other.

According to (1), it is possible to prevent a situation in which thesecond parking candidate position is difficult to be visually recognizedor selected due to the display of the first parking candidate positioneven though the second parking candidate position based on the pastregistration of the user is detected.

(2) The control device according to (1), in which

-   -   when the first parking candidate position and the second parking        candidate position are detected and the first parking candidate        position and the second parking candidate position overlap each        other, the display control unit causes to display the first        parking candidate position in a more inconspicuous manner than        the first parking candidate position when the first parking        candidate position and the second parking candidate position do        not overlap each other.

According to (2), it is possible to prevent a situation in which thesecond parking candidate position is difficult to be visually recognizeddue to the display of the first parking candidate position, and it ispossible to autonomously park the moving body at the registered parkingposition accurately.

(3) The control device according to (2), in which

-   -   when the first parking candidate position and the second parking        candidate position are detected and the first parking candidate        position and the second parking candidate position overlap each        other, the display control unit hides the first parking        candidate position overlapping the second parking candidate        position.

According to (3), it is possible to further prevent a situation in whichthe second parking candidate position is difficult to be visuallyrecognized.

(4) The control device according to (3), in which

-   -   when the first parking candidate position and the second parking        candidate position are detected and the first parking candidate        position and the second parking candidate position do not        overlap each other, the display control unit causes to display        the first parking candidate position and the second parking        candidate position.

According to (4), when the first parking candidate position and thesecond parking candidate position do not overlap each other and thevisibility is not deteriorated, it is possible to select a parkingcandidate position according to an option and a situation of the user bydisplaying the first parking candidate position and the second parkingcandidate position, and the usability is improved.

(5) The control device according to (4), in which

-   -   when the first parking candidate position and the second parking        candidate position are detected and the first parking candidate        position and the second parking candidate position do not        overlap each other, the display control unit causes to display        the first parking candidate position and the second parking        candidate position in different modes.

According to (5), the user can easily distinguish between the firstparking candidate position and the second parking candidate position.

(6) The control device according to any one of (1) to (5), in which

-   -   the first parking candidate position is detected based on at        least one of detection of a parking frame and detection of a        vacant parking space.

According to (6), it is possible to accurately detect the first parkingcandidate position by performing detection based on the information.

(7) The control device according to any one of (1) to (6), in which

-   -   the second parking candidate position is detected based on a        comparison between feature points of external environment        recognition data registered by the user in advance and feature        points of current external environment recognition data.

According to (7), by comparing the feature points of the externalenvironment recognition data, it is possible to accurately determinewhether a parking candidate position is the registered designatedparking position.

(8) A control method performed by a processor of a control device,comprising:

-   -   detecting a first parking candidate position based on external        environment recognition data of a moving body and a second        parking candidate position registered in advance by a user of        the moving body;    -   displaying parking candidate positions detected by the detection        on a display device;    -   receiving selection of a target parking position from among the        displayed parking candidate positions from a user of the moving        body; and    -   parking the moving body at the selected target parking position,        wherein    -   the control method includes displaying the second parking        candidate position preferentially over the first parking        candidate position, when the first parking candidate position        and the second parking candidate position are detected and the        first parking candidate position and the second parking        candidate position overlap each other in a case where the        parking candidate positions are displayed on the display device.

According to (8), it is possible to prevent a situation in which thesecond parking candidate position is difficult to be visually recognizedor selected due to the display of the first parking candidate positioneven though the second parking candidate position based on the pastregistration of the user is detected.

(9) A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that stores acontrol program for causing a processor of a control device to execute aprocess, the process comprising:

-   -   detecting a first parking candidate position based on external        environment recognition data of a moving body and a second        parking candidate position registered in advance by a user of        the moving body;    -   causing a display device to display detected parking candidate        positions detected;    -   receiving, from a user of the moving body, selection of a target        parking position from among the displayed parking candidate        positions; and    -   parking the moving body at the selected target parking position,        wherein    -   the process includes displaying the second parking candidate        position preferentially over the first parking candidate        position, when the first parking candidate position and the        second parking candidate position are detected and the first        parking candidate position and the second parking candidate        position overlap each other in a case where the parking        candidate positions are displayed on the display device.

According to (9), it is possible to prevent a situation in which thesecond parking candidate position is difficult to be visually recognizedor selected due to the display of the first parking candidate positioneven though the second parking candidate position based on the pastregistration of the user is detected.

1. A control device comprising circuitry configured to: detect a first parking candidate position based on external environment recognition data of a moving body and a second parking candidate position registered in advance by a user of the moving body; cause a display device to display detected parking candidate positions; receive, from a user of the moving body, selection of a target parking position from among the displayed parking candidate positions; and park the moving body at the selected target parking position, wherein the circuitry causes to display the second parking candidate position preferentially over the first parking candidate position, when the first parking candidate position and the second parking candidate position are detected and the first parking candidate position and the second parking candidate position overlap each other.
 2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein when the first parking candidate position and the second parking candidate position are detected and the first parking candidate position and the second parking candidate position overlap each other, the circuitry causes to display the first parking candidate position in a more inconspicuous manner than the first parking candidate position when the first parking candidate position and the second parking candidate position do not overlap each other.
 3. The control device according to claim 2, wherein when the first parking candidate position and the second parking candidate position are detected and the first parking candidate position and the second parking candidate position overlap each other, the circuitry hides the first parking candidate position overlapping the second parking candidate position.
 4. The control device according to claim 3, wherein when the first parking candidate position and the second parking candidate position are detected and the first parking candidate position and the second parking candidate position do not overlap each other, the circuitry causes to display the first parking candidate position and the second parking candidate position.
 5. The control device according to claim 4, wherein when the first parking candidate position and the second parking candidate position are detected and the first parking candidate position and the second parking candidate position do not overlap each other, the circuitry causes to display the first parking candidate position and the second parking candidate position in different modes.
 6. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the first parking candidate position is detected based on at least one of detection of a parking frame and detection of a vacant parking space.
 7. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the second parking candidate position is detected based on a comparison between feature points of external environment recognition data registered by the user in advance and feature points of current external environment recognition data.
 8. A control method performed by a processor of a control device, comprising: detecting a first parking candidate position based on external environment recognition data of a moving body and a second parking candidate position registered in advance by a user of the moving body; causing a display device to display detected parking candidate positions: receiving, from a user of the moving body, selection of a target parking position from among the displayed parking candidate positions; and parking the moving body at the selected target parking position, wherein the control method comprises causing to display the second parking candidate position preferentially over the first parking candidate position, when the first parking candidate position and the second parking candidate position are detected and the first parking candidate position and the second parking candidate position overlap each other in a case where the parking candidate positions are displayed on the display device.
 9. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that stores a control program for causing a processor of a control device to execute a process, the process comprising: detecting a first parking candidate position based on external environment recognition data of a moving body and a second parking candidate position registered in advance by a user of the moving body; causing a display device to display detected parking candidate positions; receiving, from a user of the moving body, selection of a target parking position from among the displayed parking candidate positions; and parking the moving body at the selected target parking position, wherein the process comprises causing to display the second parking candidate position preferentially over the first parking candidate position when the first parking candidate position and the second parking candidate position are detected and the first parking candidate position and the second parking candidate position overlap each other in a case where the parking candidate positions are displayed on the display device. 